Friday, January 29, 2010

Pork and Lentil Stew

This is another of those rambling recipes without definite measurements, but it turned out pretty well, and for stews definite measurements are not really a requirement.

First I cooked a bag of lentils on the stove in water.

While that was happening, I put some sliced boneless pork chops in the oven at about 375 degrees.

They were kind of laid out in a fanned line, to fit in the 9 by 12-inch casserole dish I was using.

I roasted the pork until the color looked good (until the fatty bits were brown and crackling)

Then I trimmed most of the fat off (I kept the brownest bits to add to the stew), cut it into bite-sized pieces and put it all in the crock pot.

I added the cooked lentils, water and all. (Lots of vitamins in that water!)

Then I heated up some frozen onions in the pork casserole dish in the oven (after pouring off the broth), not completely cooked, just enough to brown the edges a bit, then dumped the onions in the crock pot too.

Then I added soem seasoning. Some minced garlic, a little salt, some black pepper, about a tsp of dried thyme, some hot pepper sauce, and a big bag of turnip cubes and greens (frozen).

By this time the fat had risen to the top of the pork broth, so I skimmed that off and added the broth to the pot.

After the turnips and greens were cooked, I added some balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar (about 1/4 cup in total).

I think tomatoes would make a great source for the acidity, replacing the vinegar, but I can't have them.